Below canopy hyperspectral drones for forestry (Hyper-Forest)

Purpose and goal:

The Hyper-Forest project successfully developed and tested a new type of autonomous drones that are designed to automatically calculate a forest´s yearly greenhouse gas flux (including it´s yearly production or sequestration of carbon dioxide). The novel new system is designed to fly long-distances autonomously navigating in-between the tree tops.

Thus, maximizing its ability to gather high-resolution data both in the canopy and at the forest floor. Orbital and drone data were assessed, revealing significant advantages of the new prototype drones vs. existing alternatives. Expected results and effects:

The project results generated significant interest from both the private and institutional sectors. Governments, academics, and industry alike demonstrated significant desire to pilot test and scale-up the new drones. With 21 signed letters of interest being obtained by project stakeholders.

A market assessment during the project revealed a market size of more than 20B EUR anticipated for the product and its related services by 2030. Scaling-up into this market was calculated to induce the additional sequestration of millions of tones of greenhouse gas locally and globally. Approach and implementation:

The project was designed to build the new autonomous drone prototype and test it against existing methods by flying in forests surrounding an Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) research station. This was successfully achived in late 2023.

With the success of the project, the stakeholders are now discussing the best methods to scale-up the system and conduct additional research and development trial throughout 2024 and beyond.

The main commercial service provider (Deep Forestry AB) has implemented a strategic pathway towards market release of the new drones by Spring 2025.